Michigan State's Branden Dawson goes after the ball against Virginia's Malcolm Brogdon during Friday's game in New York. / Julian H. Gonzalez/DFP

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NEW YORK — No, you will not run. Yes, you will be defended like you’re playing 5-on-8.

And you’d better play smart basketball if you’re going to beat a team coached by a Bennett.

Tom Izzo played Dick Bennett 13 times, and every one of those games was roughly the same as his first meeting with Dick’s son, Tony. It was slow, it was full of bumps and grabs and scratches, and it came down to one team finding the mental toughness to make winning plays at the end – the Michigan State Spartans.

No. 4 seed MSU came back in the second half against the grittiest defense it has seen this season to edge No. 1 seed Virginia 61-59 in the East regional semifinals Friday at Madison Square Garden.

“I thought that was one of the toughest games I’ve played in – it reminded me of the Iowa State game,” Izzo said of a 2000 regional final win that led to a national title. “It was a fistfight. Every possession mattered, every part of that game mattered.”

Down 40-36 midway through the second half, with a largely pro-Virginia crowd roaring, the Spartans executed and got clutch plays from Adreian Payne and Branden Dawson to finish on top. Payne’s triple with 1:29 left – on a pass from fellow senior Keith Appling -- gave MSU (29-8) the lead for good and answered a 7-0 run for ACC champion Virginia (30-7).

“We beat a hell of a team,” Izzo said.

“When you're in a game like this, with this much at stake at this level, plays have to be made, whether it's big shots hit or just a big block or something,” Bennett said. “They did that. We had a little trouble down the stretch doing that. A couple times we broke down and they made us pay, but they're used to winning. They have obviously those guys, the experience, and they are a physical team. I think they're playing their best ball – Dawson makes all the difference, and he did today.”

Dawson had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Payne scored 16 to lead the Spartans into the East regional final, at 2:20 p.m. Sunday against No. 7 seed Connecticut (28-8). The winner will advance to the Final Four, with national semifinals set for a week from Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

The Huskies, cheered on by a large throng of fans, beat No. 3 seed Iowa State 81-76 in the other semifinal Friday, getting 27 points from DeAndre Daniels and 19 from senior guard Shabazz Napier. Much of the same UConn team beat much of the same MSU team, 66-62, to open last season on Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Izzo will be going for his seventh Final Four and first since 2010. This is his eighth Elite Eight appearance, and he brings a 6-1 record in regional finals to the game.

Virginia got 17 points apiece from Joe Harris and Malcolm Brogdon but could not hold its slim lead once Dawson and the Spartans charged back. Izzo went 10-3 against Dick Bennett when Dick Bennett coached Wisconsin and now gets a narrow win in his first meeting with Tony.

But it looked like it was going the other way midway through the second half, with Virginia rolling and MSU committing five of its 10 turnovers in a wobbly stretch. A Dawson putback dunk and roar seemed to give the Spartans life.

“Virginia is a very, very, very tough team,” Dawson said. “Those guys just never gave up. Coming into this game, (Izzo) told us that we better be ready for a dogfight. That's what it was. When they went on that run, like I said before, we just never lost our poise.”

And the Cavaliers never stopped clawing. Down 51-44 with 4:14 left after big baskets from Dawson and Keith Appling, they went on a 7-0 run over the next 2:25, capped by a Justin Anderson corner three. Suddenly, it was all tied and Izzo was taking a timeout with 1:41 left.

Payne had passed up a previous open three to drive and put up an awkward shot, and he heard about it in the huddle. He also responded: “I’m going to know this next one down if I get it.”

Appling had several options on the ensuing play, and he perfectly timed a throwback pass to Payne. Payne rattled in a three with 1:29 left.

“We knew that around that time that they went on their run, it was winning time,” he said. “And that's what you heard from the huddle. That's what you heard from everybody.”

He and Trice swished two high-pressure foul shots apiece in the final 33 seconds to hold off Virginia. Then Gary Harris, who had foul trouble and just six points, made his first free throw with 1.4 seconds left and missed the second on purpose – after a lively huddle discussion about whether he should or not, Izzo said.

Anderson’s resulting long heave came up well short. And the Spartans came up one win away from the Final Four they have talked about all season.